More female role models are needed in sport to inspire young people
N
ick has been CEO of the London Marathon since 1995, where he’s seen the event grow to more than 35,000 finishers – raising over £50m each year. He’s
also a senior partner in the sports law firm Max Bitel Greene and has previously served as a board member of UK Sport. “UK Sport’s focus on the elite end of sport might not
seem relevant to the work of Sport England but in fact the structural issues facing sports and governing bodies in this country are much the same for elite and grassroots sport. “My six years as a board member of UK Sport has helped
me to understand these issues as did my focus on major events and the use of them to deliver legacy for sport in this country. This is clearly a central theme for Sport England in the run up to London 2012. “The demand for the major mass participation events in
the UK continues to grow and in fact the growth of par- ticipation in running and cycling (see Active People Survey 4 on p40) has largely been the result of iconic events such as these. There are however, many barriers to new events being set up and other sports have yet to find their equiva- lents. It’s no coincidence that many of the successful mass
participation events have been set up by private companies rather than by governing bodies, which tended in the past to concentrate on the elite part of their sports. “The analyses of the benefits of major events have tended to concentrate on tourism, sporting advantage and eco- nomic legacy and these are well documented. However, the major task for Sport England is to ensure that such events also drive up participation and here there has been less suc- cess in the past. There have been some good examples, such as the World Track Cycling Championships in Manchester and the Ryder Cup in Wales, however, research has shown that other events like the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games have had less success.
“I’m convinced that we can achieve this in England on the back of London 2012 but the evidence is that only those sports with well-run governing bod- ies that understand the use of major events to drive up participation will manage this.”
NICK BITEL B
efore becoming Ofcom CEO, Jill was MD of BSkyB’s EasyNet Group where she secured and managed a three year sponsorship of the British Olympic Association. “My aim as board member is to ensure that Sport Eng-
land‘s programmes deliver value for money, in terms of maximising every extra pound of spend, to deliver increased participation and I hope that my commercial experience brings about this outcome. “The link between Ofcom and Sport England is that we
both have significant roles in relation to the London 2012 Games. Sport England is directly contributing to the fund- ing of the Velodrome and Aquatics Centre and has real focus on the legacy benefits of the Games. Ofcom is responsible for delivering the government’s spectrum guarantees that were given as part of the bid. This covers the 20,000 spec- trum assignments for pieces of equipment such as radios and
wireless cameras, and during the Games we will be respon- sible for interference management. “In my opinion, the basic foundation for sporting success is sound governance and professional management, on which to build talent and team programmes. What is important is that sports governing bodies work together and share the lessons they learn with each other.
“With the issue of encouraging more women into sport, as a busy working mother myself, the issue is time. However, I think sports need to understand what social environment women enjoy and this may mean that they need to re-engi- neer their products so that they deliver a conveniently timed social experience as well as a sporting one.”
JILL AINSCOUGH Issue 1 2011 © cybertrek 2011 Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital 27
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